RENAULT Twingo Facelift Review

We have to start with the driving position, which is is rather unusual for this segment, being pretty high, but once you get used to this, you find it helpful, especially around town.

The facelift hasn't done too much for this chapter - we could maybe mention the materials, which have been improved and are now a bit more pleasant to touch.

The suspension has a soft setup, which makes the car lose points out on the open road but together with the seats, makes sure that you feel comfortable.

However, the soundproofing is rather poor and both the city frenzy and the highway wind noise manage to disturb you. Enthusiastic drivers might appreciate this, as it allows one to feel that he's going fast without actually risking to loose his license, but for most people it's not pleasant.

Since we're talking about a budget car, don't expect it to be to gifted for this chapter. However, the Twingo gets a decent rating, as this is the right word that can be used for many of its features, such as the single-zone climate control system or the audio system.

In fact, you can analyze the vehicle's tech side and realize that this is a modest car - if you look at it this way you'll get along just fine.

The revamp received by the Twingo is extremely discreet from the tech point of view, but the engineers just couldn't lose the opportunity to see their names on the "credits" screen and thus made a few tweaks aimed at increasing efficiency.

All the engines in the range, including the 75 hp 1.2-liter 16V unit we tested received a few minor tweaks, which together with the aerodynamic changes brought by the new exterior details have lowered emissions - in our case, this the CO2 emissions have been reduced from 135 to 102 g/km.

Despite this, the little engine has remained just as rev-happy as before so it still smiles when you taje it past 6,000 rpm, despite the fact that it doesn't benefit from a variable distribution system. A quick look at the specs reveals that the peak power arrives at 5,500 rpm and the maximum torque is delivered at 4,250 rpm, so you know you have to push the 1,149cc unit hard if you want to have some fun.

We'll remind you that the Twingo uses a modified Clio platform and while this makes enthusiasts dream of swapping the 133 hp 1.6-liter engine on the RS version with the 203 hp 2.0-liter unit from the Clio RS, for normal customers it means that the vehicle feels less fragile.

The Twingo comes with its special set of features. First there's the stalactite-gifted storage compartment placed where the instruments should've been. The latter have migrated to the center of the dashboard, but a separated rev counter unit is placed above the steering wheel column.

Then we have the stereo, which is mounted with the face towards the roof liner. The atypical position of the instruments and that of the stereo are borrowed from the original Twingo.

The facelift has brought a few changes for this chapter, with the Bluetooth ans USB becoming standard features across the range. The vehicle doesn't come with satnav, but Renault offers an iPhone app that is dedicated to this.

Our test car was gifted with a few features that made life aboard more pleasant, such as Renault's steering wheel column-mounted audio system control, a single-zone climate control system, as well as a basic sound system.

We also have to mention that, like the vehicles from Renault budget sub-band, Dacia, the Twingo has the horn button placed on the signal lever and this can cause problems in dangerous situations, when you rely on the reflex to press the dedicated side of the steering wheel that activates the horn in most cars.

The revamp has brought major modifications to the front fascia, so we could expect a minor difference in the pedestrian impact behavior area, but that's about all the facelift brings for this chapter. However, the changes were too small for the car to be re-tested, so we can't know for sure.

We'll remind you that the front bumper was already pretty pedestrian-friendly, but the front edge of the bonnet threatened to seriously injure a pedestrian in the event of a crash, so we hope this area has been improved.

This means that the Twingo comes with the same four-star EuroNCAP rating. To be more specific, the overall rating of the vehicle sits at 28 points. While the safety cell wasn't too bothered by the frontal impact, hard structures in the dash can injure the driver's legs as well as the front passenger's inboard one.

The Twingo also had an issue with the child restraints, as the ones recommended by Renault couldn't be fitted to the rear seats, so the protection offered to children couldn't be assessed. Unfortunately, Renault doesn't mention anything about a change in the press release.

On the road, the Twingo has two sides: within the limits of the city, where the speed is relatively low, the vehicle is extremely maneuverable and it's easy to avoid a crash, especially if you master certain driving techniques. However, on the open road the car proves pretty unstable, so it's best to not abuse the throttle.

The Twingo is a fun car, that's for sure. Now that we've given you the conclusion we're heading outside to take it's 1.2-liter 16V engine to the red line and abuse the handbrake a little. OK, we realize that people aren't going to buy it in order to use it for such purposes and that we need to tell you more about it, so here we go.

The revamp has turned the Twingo into a moving indicator for Renault's future design direction, has brought a few fresh materials and colors for the interior and has increased the efficiency a little bit.

The French wanted to bring the Twingo closer to status small cars, such as the Mini or the Fiat 500 and have succeeded - if you use a bold color and certain personalization elements, like our test car did, people will pay attention to your Twingo.

Since we're in the "funky" area of this chapter, we'll also mention that the Twingo manages to deliver a fun experience of the driver is ready to take its little engine past the 6,000 rpm point and maybe grab it by the handbrake. Of course, since we're talking about a car that comes with a price around EUR10,000, both the fun and the "look at me" factors are limited, but it's important that they're there.

The vehicle is extremely agile in the city, but really shows its weaknesses if taken out on the open road, so it's best to play this game on the urban playground. This means that the Twingo isn't a complete car, which is the part about it that we didn't like.

The Twingo has come a long way from the first generation and offers an interesting package that is aimed at an young audience, managing to pack some soul in its small package and thus being a mentionable option in its segment.